Male Circumcision and Sexual Function / Satisfaction

Male circumcision does not negatively affect men’s sexual function or satisfaction, according to a systematic literature review.

The study was conducted by Dr. Brian J. Morris of the University of Sydney in Australia and Dr. John N. Krieger of the University of Washington School of Medicine in the United States.

Circumcision may be practiced for health, cultural, or religious reasons. According to 2006 data from the World Health Organization, circumcision is more prevalent in the Middle East and parts of Africa. It is less common in Europe, Asia, and South America. In North America and Australia, the prevalence rate is between 20% and 80%.

Past studies on circumcision’s effects on male sexuality have had mixed results. In this literature review, the authors aimed to get a clearer perspective on how circumcision influences sexual function.

They analyzed 36 studies found using related keywords in the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases. In total, the studies involved 40,473 men – 20,931 who were circumcised and 19,542 who were not. The quality of the studies was rated using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN).

The authors found that the higher-quality studies provided evidence that “circumcision had no overall adverse effect on penile sensitivity, sexual arousal, sexual sensation, erectile function, premature ejaculation, ejaculatory latency, orgasm difficulties, sexual satisfaction, pleasure, or pain during penetration.” The authors performed meta-analyses to confirm these results.

Many of the lower-quality studies found that circumcised men experienced sexual problems. However, these studies were not considered reliable because of flaws in study design, selection of cases and controls, data interpretation, and other aspects of the research.

Future explorations on this subject should include more high-quality research, physiological testing, better survey studies, and improvements in questionnaires, the authors said.

“Based on available data to date, it is likely that such high-quality studies will further confirm that circumcision does not reduce any sexual function or sensation parameter, or diminish sexual pleasure,” they added.

The report was first published online in August 2013 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.